US Secretary of State Antony Blinken repeated his opposition to territorial changes in the Gaza Strip on Tuesday, as Israel pounded the territory in response to a Hamas attack.
Blinken, on a visit to Nigeria, was responding to persistent predictions that Israel would establish a buffer zone inside the Gaza Strip, which has sparked Arab outrage.
Blinken expressed support for interim measures, claiming that Israel has the right to prevent a repeat of the catastrophic Hamas attack on October 7 and to reassure people in border areas.
“It is appropriate, something that we support, that those people be able to return to their homes and that the necessary security arrangements be in place to give them the confidence to do that”, Blinken continued.
He went on to say, “If there need to be transitional arrangements to enable that to happen, that’s one thing”.
“But when it comes to the permanent status of Gaza going forward, we have been very clear, we remain clear about not encroaching on its territory”, Blinken added.
The United States has been Israel’s primary military and diplomatic backer, though it has urged Israel to do more to protect civilians.
The Hamas strike on October 7 killed around 1,140 people in Israel.
Since October 7, Israeli bombardments and ground offensive have killed around 25,400 Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, with over 70% of them being women, young children, and adolescents.
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